43 minSeason 2 • Episode 10
LatestGustav Stresemann (1878 - 1929) became Reich Chancellor when the young Weimar Republic was once again plunged into chaos: in the crisis year of 1923. Germany was still suffering the consequences of the lost war and the Treaty of Versailles. France and Belgium occupied the Ruhr region to force billions in reparations and gain control over the important industrial region. Inflation reached its peak. Communist uprisings threatened from the left, and the radical right called for a national dictatorship. Becoming chancellor at such a time was "really political suicide," Stresemann wrote to his wife.
Die Deutschen is a German television documentary produced for ZDF that first aired from October to November 2008. Each episode recounts a selected epoch of German history, beginning with the reign of Otto the Great and ending with the collapse of the German Empire at the end of the First World War. In November 2010 the second season of Die Deutschen was published in German television, beginning with Charlemagne, the Frankish King, and ending with Gustav Stresemann, the Chancellor and Foreign Minister during the Weimar Republic. Historical events are recreated through a combination of live action scenes and computer generated animations. The series was filmed at over 200 different locations in Germany, Malta, and Romania at a cost of approximately €500,000 per episode.
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